Levelling up is a concept we’re now all aware of, as it forms a strategic part of the government’s manifesto. Opportunities are now available for councils to access funding to improve the infrastructure of their local areas, but how is it put into practice?

Dorset Council is a recently formed unitary authority, created from five smaller districts in April 2019. We have an ongoing wider programme of digital improvements, aimed at providing internal staff with the most efficient and effective way of working, whilst delivering exceptional services for local residents.

With the formation of the new unitary authority, there came the merging of six different planning systems - some of which were obsolete. Having multiple systems at different levels of maturity presented challenges to staff, and so we committed to merging them together and transforming our workflow, all with the aim of creating meaningful change for our community.

As one of the many councils choosing to digitise and modernise its planning systems, we applied for Levelling Up funding through the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), which was awarded in November 2021. Here is how we used that to accelerate our digital transformation programme, and what we learned on the journey.

Bringing the data together

We developed a two-phase plan: to converge the systems and then digitally transform them to bring the new system in line with the needs of the local authority. Our delivery partner DEF was brought in during the initial stages and worked to join up the six separate systems: the previous councils of Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, West Dorset District Council, North Dorset District Council, Purbeck, East Dorset and Dorset County Council.

The first major part of the process for us was the discovery stage. We talked to internal and external stakeholders to get a clear understanding of best practices when it comes to planning systems, which is something I would recommend to any local or unitary authority. Even as we were forced to move to remote working due to the pandemic, we pivoted and carried on, business as usual. The combination of different stakeholders involved meant that the team was very multidisciplinary, which I would also recommend. Bringing together a variety of different experiences creates a unique, agile knowledge base.

The second phase, the transformation phase, has now begun. This will give us a seamless customer-facing element. We’re excited at the positive impact this will have for local citizens, who will get an applications system that is much easier to use, and a more streamlined process overall.

A flexible council

The suite we’re developing is being used by around 250 officers in planning and policy, land charges, building control, minerals and waste, all the way through to those dealing with enforcements. Using the financial backing of DLUHC and support of our delivery partner, we’re building a customer platform that works across many departments at the council.

Being on a single system means that no matter which area we're working in, we can access the information. It also means that we can deploy people to different areas depending on need. Officers working on their cases will no longer the only person who can access particular pieces of information, meaning staff absences and staff being off site won’t have a negative impact. It also means that pieces of information from different parts of the system can interact with each other, building up a complete picture for users. The value of this can’t be understated enough, as workloads are constantly evolving and growing in response to demand, as well as legislative and regulatory changes.

Now that the old systems have been stripped back and converged, it’s now being built back up for the transformation phase. We’re working on improvements to help the system truly excel, building on the solid foundation that we’ve established.

Our plans for the future

Interactive, map-based planning is all part of Government plans to modernise the system, so it’s important to us as a unitary authority to look to the future and exceed those expectations.

These developments are vital to make it easier for citizens to understand more about planning and feel involved in the development of their local area. And having a planning system which spans the whole area, is easy to use for both internal staff and external applicants, is a massive part of making that happen. We’re excited to see what the system will look like in the near future, and extremely happy with the work that has taken place already.

Changes to the structure of local government are accelerating. To any councils on the verge of becoming a part of a unitary authority, know that there are so many opportunities here to take the digital systems you work with, to a new level. Use it as a chance to improve services for internal staff, and the citizens whose needs are continuously evolving. Look to other unitary authorities to see what they have done. Look for advice in finding the right funding. When it comes to creating successful planning systems within unitary authorities, levelling up can become a reality.

Cllr David Walsh is portfolio holder for planning at Dorset Council.